This last week has been sort of a roller coaster ride…ups, downs, some unexpected turns and I might have a slight case of whiplash; at least I didn‘t throw up. We have made good progress though, as is evidenced by the tons of wood, sealant, screws, yukatas, old tiles and sewing machine table we have strewn about the (soon to be) cafe. You did hear me correctly, we have, as of today, 3 antique sewing machine tables (one still has a sewing machine attached to it) that we will be using as normal tables in our guesthouse.

1. This last fact falls squarely under the buying category (blog title). It really is crazy how much stuff we have bought this last week, probably more stuff (minus beer and food, of course) than I have bought in the last 5 years combined. From fax machines to futon mattresses-we (mainly Nori) has bought everything one would need to open a guesthouse. This shouldn’t be surprising being that we are in fact opening a guesthouse soon, but just the amount of time/energy/money that it requires is pretty stunning.

2. This brings us to building. As those of you who know me know, I’m not exactly the “building”-type; not that I don’t enjoy making stuff or tools….it’s just that, I’m sort of a wuss. This week has sort of kicked my ass (in an educational sort of way) and I have been quite busy: making wooden partitions for our mixed dorm and benches for our private rooms, painting, filing, scraping, cutting holes into table and just destroying my infamous babyhands. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and I plan to keep up the hard work and continue continuing on.

3. Finally, we arrive at brewing. Long has it been my dream to brew my own beer. And as we speak I have a nutty brown ale in the primary fermentor that will be bottled later today or tomorrow. I’m extreamly happy (if the beer turns out ok that is) to finally have the space and the time to make my own beer; there is only one thing that could trump making my own beer, but that will have to be left for a later entry. Interesting fact: it is actually illegal to brew beer in Japan with an alcohol content above 1%. Please note the accidental batch clause in this article about homebrew in Japan in the Japan times. So rest assured, I WILL NOT be brewing my beer to only 1%, umm…sorry I meant to say I WILL ONLY be brewing my beer to 1%.